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Bremer dan Gorst
'''Bremer dan Gorst' is a contestant in the Contest, considered the favourite by those in the know. He has a minor role in the trilogy before being promoted to a main POV character in The Heroes. Appearance and Personality Gorst is a big, thick-necked bull of a man, with a doorstep of a jaw. His arms are thick as tree trunks and corded with heavy muscles''The Blade Itself, Nobility. His hair is shaved to dark stubble. His appearance is often likened to that of a commoner. Gorst's physique belies a gentle, high-pitched voice, for which he is subjected to all kinds of ridicule and scorn. He is an exceptional swordsman, arguably the best fighter in the series barring Logen Ninefingers. He appears too thickset to be quick, but is revealed to be far quicker than he looks. His fencing steels are heavy and worn. His strikes are described by Glokta as well-timed and highly accurate. Gorst has an extremely casual manner, completely calm and utterly unconcerned at the big occasion of the Contest, watching his opponent dance through barely open eyes. His true personality is only revealed in The Heroes. After his disgrace in Sipani, where he failed to protect his king, he becomes consumed by bitterness, secretly loathing virtually everyone and everything, even, or especially himself. History Bremer dan Gorst is a kinsman of Lord Brock, and served in his personal guardThe Blade Itself, Barbarians at the Gate. ''The Blade Itself Gorst enters as a contestant in The Contest. In Lord Marshal Varuz' eyes, Gorst is the only competitor that Jezal should seriously worry about: Gorst has excellent stamina''The Blade Itself, Playing with Knives, and is hard to knock downThe Blade Itself, Fencing Practice. Jezal dan Luthar notices Gorst at the opening ceremony to The Contest, whom he compares to a farmhand rather than a fencer. Where most of the contestants are nearly shaking in fear, Gorst seems completely calm and utterly unconcerned; he even has the audacity to wink at him. In the first round, Gorst is up against a man named Kurster, the crowd favourite. Sand dan Glokta observes the pair and alights on the fact that Gorst, despite his dockside appearance, is the superior fighter and an innovator with his new brutal fighting styleThe Blade Itself, An Offer and a Gift. Gorst demolishes the more traditional fighter. Jezal and Gorst face off in the final of The Contest. Bayaz, Logen, and Quai sit in the stands, and Logen agrees a gentleman’s bet with Bayaz that Gorst will win, despite Quai’s warning to never bet against a Magus. Down three touches to none, with only one more needed for Gorst to win the match, Jezal impossibly avoid a final strike. Jezal counters to put himself back in the match. In the stands, Bayaz, sweating profusely, admits to manipulating Jezal’s performance with the Art. With the aid of the Magus, Jezal rallies, a better fencer than he ever imaged he could be, and defeats Gorst. A very graceful loser, Gorst congratulates his opponent and presented him to the cheering crowdThe Blade Itself, Never Bet Against a Magus. ''Last Argument of Kings Soon after King Jezal the First assumes the throne, Gorst leaves Lord Brock's service because "the position did not suit him"Last Argument of Kings, Part I, Such Sweet Sorrow, and becomes a Knight of the Body. The King asks Gorst to quietly bring his former lover Ardee West to the palace. During the Battle of Adua, Gorst remains at the King's side throughout''Last Argument of Kings, Part II, Leadership. He saves his life when Jezal leads a charge of the royal guard, wading into the enemy to rescue him. As the Gurkish Eaters breach the palace to kill the king, Gorst helps fight them off until they are finally cornered in the Chamber of Mirrors. Tired of running, Jezal confronts the Eaters, side by side with Gorst. Before they can attack, High Justice Marovia dashes between them, and slices the Eaters in two with The Divider. Before their eyes Marovia then becomes Yoru SulfurLast Argument of Kings, Part II, Dark Paths. ''Best Served Cold Although not named in the book, a Knight of the Body briefly encountered by Caul Shivers in Cardotti’s House of Leisure in Sipani, is later established to have been Gorst. It is revealed in the short story Wrong Place, Wrong Time (in the Sharp Ends collection) that Gorst was in an upstairs room with a prostitute. However rather than having sex or being passed out drunk he was simply resting his head on her lap and cried as she soothed him, establishing Gorst has been dealing with depression for some time. When he hears the chaos ensuing downstairs, Gorst dashes to find his king. He barrels out of the whores bedroom and into Shivers, who butts him in the face, and hurls him down the stairs. ''The Heroes'' Following the debacle at Cardotti’s House of Leisure, Bremer dan Gorst has been removed from his position as the King's First Guard, having been apparently unjustly scapegoated for failing protect the king. He's instead appointed Royal Observer of the Second Northern War, accompanying the Union Army against Black Dow's Northmen and reporting on the details of the ongoing war. Despite instructions to remain away from the front lines, Gorst repeatedly seeks the most dangerous parts of the battle, using violence as a temporary catharsis for his personal despair. On the first day, he leads a cavalry charge that halts the Northmen at the river. On the second day, he turns the tide on the Old Bridge, severely injuring Scale and securing a Union bridgehead. By the third day, he has fully embraced his role as a killer, leading the charge up the Heroes, and getting into an epic fight with Whirrun of Bligh, before being forced to retreat. Gorst's heroics do eventually earn his a modicum of respect from the other soldiers. In the end, he's overjoyed to receive the royal forgiveness and reinstatement to his previous position as the King's First Guard. His happiness lasts all of five minutes. Gorst runs out to tell Finree dan Brock of his news, only to learn of her husband's promotion. Utterly crestfallen, he bursts out his unrequited love for Finree, the joy he finds in killing, and bemoans being scapegoated for Sipani. Finree doesn't let this pass however, and delivers a string of home-truths, including that he was indeed passed out drunk with a whore in Sipani, and not for the first time. Gorst does not try to deny it. Sharp Ends In the short story Wrong Place, Wrong Time from the collection ''Sharp Ends'', it's revealed that, rather than being drunk and whoring, Gorst was sobbing on a prostitute's lap as she soothed him, showing that Gorst had been dealing with depression for quite some time before The Heroes. Once Gorst hears the chaos break out, he immediately rushed to find the king, only to barrel straight into Shivers, who headbutts him and sends him sprawling down the stairs. A Little Hatred Bremer dan Gorst is now well into his fifties, but he's still the King's First Guard and still trains for three hours every day, with a fair claim to being the greatest swordsman of the age. He trains once a week with Savine dan Glokta. Illustrations Bremer.png bremmer_dan_gorst_vs_whirrun_of_bligh___final_by_ortizfreelance-d7z22om.jpg|Bremer dan Gorst vs Whirrun of Bligh Gorst vs jezal by johnplaystuba-d4pz3sx.jpg|Jezal dan Luthar vs Bremer dan Gorst Blood by mentat0209 dctk3j4-fullview.jpg|Bremer dan Gorst vs Whirrun of Bligh by mentat0209 Gorst.jpg|Gorst by Korse References Category:Characters Category:POV characters Category:Military Category:Characters from the Union